GMG Green Thumb Club

[Szykneij]

I'm concerned I'll discover a lot of winter kill when spring finally arrives. Last month, we had some torrential rain that subsequently froze. Then, we got a blizzard that covered the ice. Snow cover is good for dormant plants in the winter, but not when it's on top of a layer of ice. On the bright side, the guards I put around the trees and shrubs the rabbits damaged last year seem to be doing the job. I find lots of rabbit scat each morning, but little plant damage. The hay I bought before it snowed and left it out for them might also be helping.

[Irons]

I'm concerned I'll discover a lot of winter kill when spring finally arrives. Last month, we had some torrential rain that subsequently froze. Then, we got a blizzard that covered the ice. Snow cover is good for dormant plants in the winter, but not when it's on top of a layer of ice. On the bright side, the guards I put around the trees and shrubs the rabbits damaged last year seem to be doing the job. I find lots of rabbit scat each morning, but little plant damage. The hay I bought before it snowed and left it out for them might also be helping.

A miracle how nature recovers from the most adverse of conditions.

[Mandryka]

Yes I planted a Teucrium fruticans in September 2020. It really did well, lots of new growth and quite large until February 2021, when two days of frosts -- maybe -2 -- killed it right off, disappeared without trace.

I just went out and it's back with a vengeance -- from absolutely nothing to about 24 inches of growth already.

[Szykneij]

A miracle how nature recovers from the most adverse of conditions.

Yes I planted a Teucrium fruticans in September 2020. It really did well, lots of new growth and quite large until February 2021, when two days of frosts -- maybe -2 -- killed it right off, disappeared without trace.

I just went out and it's back with a vengeance -- from absolutely nothing to about 24 inches of growth already.

I'm glad to hear it came back! Nature can be remarkable. When I was having tree work done last summer, a huge limb completely crushed a 10-foot black cherry tree. I was about to cut it up for removal, but decided to prop it up instead. So far, it continues to survive.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

A miracle how nature recovers from the most adverse of conditions.

Yes I planted a Teucrium fruticans in September 2020. It really did well, lots of new growth and quite large until February 2021, when two days of frosts -- maybe -2 -- killed it right off, disappeared without trace.

I just went out and it's back with a vengeance -- from absolutely nothing to about 24 inches of growth already.

Yes, nature is amazing.  I had left a plant  (tender woody herb) outside (It was snowed upon), but finally brought it inside.  Conditions were far from perfect.  I had to keep it in a room that was too cold; finally moved it to warmer room after Christmas tree was gone and was able to put it in front of a window.  Before that (in cooler room), there were only a  couple of leaves showing green....rest of the leaves dried up and fell off.  Now, being in front of direct sunlight (again) but also the fact that this room is much warmer, I slowly got to see signs of growth again [Also, I gave it a tiny bit of food since I hadn't fee it in quite some time].  After waiting patiently for some more signs of life, I did a bit of trimming back, and again, more buds and leaf growth (It was getting too unwieldy size-wise to deal with and catching on the curtains, etc., and also needed a bit of shaping too).

It's alive!    Now just to keep it free from various diseases and spider/bug issues 'til I can get it back outside.  It would be hard to spray it for anything where it is.  Finger's crossed.

And very happy to hear that your plant survived Mandryka.  I've found (and happily surprised) that certain plants--once they have established good root development and particularly if they are in a very favorable place (like your courtyard or in another sunny and somewhat protected conditions) will surprise you by pushing up and developing new growth; it might not be perfect looking (as in as big and full as before), but it you give it a while, you can often get it back to close to as it was before....I've thought that I had lost some butterfly bushes, but they survived (helped to be 'brutal' and really cut back the dead wood); the will to survive is strong, non?

[Mandryka]

It is spring and it is now clear that a very large drift of nepata, catmint, has died. This leaves an area about 10 feet x 5 feet pretty well bare.

I want to use the next few months to think about how to redesign it, with a view to planting etc in September.

My question is, what should I do with the land over the next 5 months? I could just clear it and hoe off any weeds which appear.  But I wonder if anyone has any more interesting suggestions.

Is it too late for any edibles? Or ornamental annuals? What about green manures?

[Irons]

It is spring and it is now clear that a very large drift of nepata, catmint, has died. This leaves an area about 10 feet x 5 feet pretty well bare.

I want to use the next few months to think about how to redesign it, with a view to planting etc in September.

My question is, what should I do with the land over the next 5 months? I could just clear it and hoe off any weeds which appear.  But I wonder if anyone has any more interesting suggestions.

Is it too late for any edibles? Or ornamental annuals? What about green manures?

Raised bed? From next to nothing, wood from pallets. To more expensive, steel.

[Mandryka]

Raised bed? From next to nothing, wood from pallets. To more expensive, steel.

Not for veggies, but you've set me thinking. Years ago at Wisley they had a garden of beds raised to eye level, planted with alpines. Like jewels they were, really beautiful, because they were raised you could really see them, and some of them trailed down the walls of the bed nicely too - others went up on little trellises. It would be hard to do in my space, but maybe, just maybe, I can think of a way. Thanks.

[Szykneij]

Bumblebees have emerged here this past weekend, so it was safe for me to start cleaning up the leaves that accumulated along the property edges. I always wait to do so until I know the bees have ventured out of their underground wintering spots.

While straightening up the vegetable garden area, I discovered a rabbit nest in one of my large planting pots with three small bunnies inside. I put up a makeshift roof over it to protect them from the heavy rains we've been having lately and have been watching out for them from afar (realizing that these cute little guys will probably become my nemesis down the road when the vegetables start to grow.) I set up a webcam nearby and have been fascinated watching how the mother only shows up at dusk to nurse the babies, staying away the rest of the day to avoid attracting predators to the nest.

The temperatures are still relatively cold here and it will be a few weeks before I can consider bringing any tender plants outside. In the meantime, my warm weather plants and the vegetable seedlings I've started are doing well in the cellar under lights.

[Mandryka]

Is it too late for me to sow Swiss chard in London?

[Irons]

Is it too late for me to sow Swiss chard in London?

Not at all. I planted Swiss chard germinated in modules in late summer last year along with perpetual spinach. They have been invaluable during the last month or so "hungry gap". I don't water or anything expecting them to go to seed at any moment but they keep producing. A curry would not be the same without a side dish of lightly boiled chard.

[Irons]

For Banana plants a year is a long time!

[Pohjolas Daughter]

For Banana plants a year is a long time!

Hey, they survived!  Why am I surprised though as I know how good of a gardener you are!

Trying to figure out how I can coexist with some milkweed (which "wandered over" from my neighbors' yard) AND not be inundated with a type of aphid which also loves this plant.  I had heard recently that monarch butterflies have been added to the endangered species list.  The milkweed is right in amongst my veggies.     I want to kill the aphids but not hurt any butterfly eggs which might be laid on the plants.

PD

[Szykneij]

You need ladybugs (or ladybirds as they're called elsewhere). This was the third summer in a row that we've had a ladybug nursery form in a stand of poison sumac that grows near the vegetable garden. Literally thousands of all stages from eggs to larva to adults emerge during late spring and early summer. They devour aphids and spread out all over keeping things pest-free. You can purchase them on line or from some garden centers, too. I'll try to post some pictures.

[Szykneij]

First, bunches of yellow ladybug eggs appear on the leaves. Then, tiny little creatures emerge. The larva grow and look like little crocodiles (careful not to step on them). A pupa forms and ladybugs emerge in a variety colors and spots.

[Szykneij]

Then, they get together to continue the process.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

You need ladybugs (or ladybirds as they're called elsewhere). This was the third summer in a row that we've had a ladybug nursery form in a stand of poison sumac that grows near the vegetable garden. Literally thousands of all stages from eggs to larva to adults emerge during late spring and early summer. They devour aphids and spread out all over keeping things pest-free. You can purchase them on line or from some garden centers, too. I'll try to post some pictures.

Glad that they like your garden--though I'm shuddering at the thought of there being poison sumac near your veggie garden.  I've heard of mixed luck with releasing beneficial insects--no guarantee that they will stay in your area.  I did do some research yesterday about various ways to get rid of (most) of the critters.  Here's one site:  https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/control-aphids-milkweed-plants/

PD

[Szykneij]

Glad that they like your garden--though I'm shuddering at the thought of there being poison sumac near your veggie garden.  I've heard of mixed luck with releasing beneficial insects--no guarantee that they will stay in your area.  I did do some research yesterday about various ways to get rid of (most) of the critters.  Here's one site:  https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/control-aphids-milkweed-plants/

PD

Yes, although it has attractive flowers, poison sumac is very dangerous and I'd definitely get rid of it completely if we lived in an agricultural area. I do cut it down (wearing gloves, long sleeves, and a mask) once the ladybugs have finished emerging.

  Of the methods mentioned in your link, I highly recommend the one using soap. I always keep a spray bottle of Dawn dish washing solution handy. Spraying it directly on soft-bodied insects like aphids suffocates them, but is harmless to beneficial bugs. It's very effective getting rid of the ugly red aphids that show up on the tips of my Jerusalem artichoke plants.

(Incidentally, I've had milkweed growing on my property for many years without an aphid problem on those particular plants. Hope I didn't just jinx myself.)

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Yes, although it has attractive flowers, poison sumac is very dangerous and I'd definitely get rid of it completely if we lived in an agricultural area. I do cut it down (wearing gloves, long sleeves, and a mask) once the ladybugs have finished emerging.

  Of the methods mentioned in your link, I highly recommend the one using soap. I always keep a spray bottle of Dawn dish washing solution handy. Spraying it directly on soft-bodied insects like aphids suffocates them, but is harmless to beneficial bugs. It's very effective getting rid of the ugly red aphids that show up on the tips of my Jerusalem artichoke plants.

(Incidentally, I've had milkweed growing on my property for many years without an aphid problem on those particular plants. Hope I didn't just jinx myself.)

Just did an inspection check of my eggplant leaves--squishing some more of what I believe to be Colorado potato beetle eggs.  Spent a while trying to sort out the differences between the eggs from 1) lady bugs, 2) Colorado p.b., and 3) aphids....confusing and am finding some contradictory info.  Augh!  Trying not to kill the good with the bad.    I do believe that I also saw a lady bug on one of my eggplant leaves.  I hadn't realized how many different varieties of them there are!

I suspect that your ladybugs have been protecting your milkweed plants.  Give them some praise! 

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

After having repeated experiences of "critters" going after my tomatoes, a friend helped me put some netting around them (not much room to maneuver alas, but we did what we could). 

And another critter has recently started going after my eggplants!  Urgh!  I was happily watching one of your traditional-looking Italian types starting to grow and push its way out of the calyx when one day, I went to check on it, and it had been gnawed off by the stem!  Then today, I saw more flowers on other eggplants lying on the bed.  Phooey!

So, I put some cages carefully around them (those 2 and 3 tiered hoop thingies) and then draped some old bird netting over the top of them and used landscape pins to hold it down (hopefully not allowing too-big of a gap in places).  Will be a pain to weed, etc., but hopefully will help.  A bit harder for bees and other pollinators to get in there too alas, but I think that it will be o.k.

And another critter chewed a hole into one of my bell pepper plants.

Probably the same critter; I'll post a wanted poster here soon.

PD

p.s.  On the good-news side of things:  a mystery plant that I was given for free whilst purchasing another plant from one of those big box home improvement stores, does in fact appear to be a jalapeño.  It was in a tray labeled "japapeno" but it didn't have an identifying marker in the pot and there was also a strawberry plant in there and I think one other plant that didn't belong there.  You could tell that it was a pepper plant of some sort though.  As I had room, I thought "What the hay?" and planted it. 

How are the rest of your gardens doing?

PD

EDIT:  I forgot to mention earlier that I was shocked at how low the water pressure was when I was watering my plants earlier today.  I thought at first that I must have had a kink in my hose and/or that I hadn't turned it up enough at the spigot.  I guess that a lot of other people were out watering plus the usual getting ready for work?